


With an open heart

by Tayani



Series: The Hollow Crown [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Aftercare, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, This Is Very Self-Indulgent And Soft, Vulnerability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 17:47:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Under the constant deluge of kindness Akira showers him with, Goro feels his walls start to break.And maybe, met with the first person in his life willing to look at him and see something more than a commodity... maybe it won't be such a bad thing, for them to finally fall down.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: The Hollow Crown [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179155
Comments: 22
Kudos: 170





	With an open heart

This time, when Goro woke up, it was because someone said his name.

He didn’t really want to wake up. Again, he clung to the pleasant warmth of sleep, feeling safe and comfortable surrounded by his alpha’s scent. Akira was no longer pressed against him, but Goro could sense he was near, could feel him threading his fingers through his hair.

It felt… nice. The simple affection made the omega want to curl up and purr out in bliss.

And then he woke up enough to analyze the thought, and scowled the moment he opened his eyes.

He was laying on their bed, idiotically curled up into Akira’s pillow. The alpha himself was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed and blinking at Goro owlishly, as if he didn’t expect him to wake up. And then he smiled and Goro wanted to claw his stupid soft smile off of his stupid handsome face.

“Good morning,” Akira said as Goro pushed the pillow off and dragged himself into a sitting position. He winced, and Akira had the decency to look guilty.

“How… um,” the alpha hesitated. “How are you feeling?” 

“Like an over-enthusiastic alpha fucked me one too many times,” Goro snarked, wrinkling his nose in disgust when he looked down at the fresh bruises and lovebites on top of his old ones. He heard Akira give a muffled laugh he clearly tried to stifle.

Fucker.

“I want a bath,” Goro demanded, because for fuck’s sake, he was technically a prince in this castle now. When he looked up at Akira, his alpha was smiling again.

“Already asked the servants to draw one for you,” he said. “There’s a bathroom in just the next room. I can carry you there, if you-”

“I can walk, thank you,” Goro cut him off. “I’ll need some clothes, too, and I’m not wearing the ridiculous omega shit from before.”

“I’ll lend you some of mine,” Akira said, still smiling. “And afterwards I can get the seamstress to come here, you’ll let her know what types of clothing you want to be made for yourself.”

Goro pursed his lips.

“...I’ll need some food, too.”

“Got a tray here for now, we can go down to the main hall for dinner later if you want to.”

“And a proper haircut. I look like a scarecrow with what you did to my hair.”

“Is it okay if I give you one?”

“And-” Goro hesitated. There weren’t many other things he needed immediately, but Akira has been pissing him off, so he _had to_ think of something his alpha couldn’t possibly have prepared already. Before he could arrive at the thing, though, Akira cut him off, reaching behind himself and picking up a cup from the nightstand. He wouldn’t look Goro in the eye as he offered it to him.

“...before all that, though,” Akira said, his ears growing red. “You might want to drink this.”

Goro stared at the cup, perplexed. Slowly, he took it out of his alpha’s fingers and peered inside. It was warm to the touch and filled with dark liquid uncannily resembling green ink. Goro’s eyes widened, but he had to make sure; he leaned in, taking a sniff.

He immediately moved away from the cup, trying hard not to gag. The liquid smelled awful - like macerated, pungent herbs with just a hint of rotten fish. But, more than the smell - it was the familiarity of it that had Goro’s head spinning. Some scents you don’t forget. This one, he certainly would _never_.

“It’s, uh…” Akira started. Goro shook his head, still staring at the cup.

“I know what this is,” he sneered. “I may be a prince, but I-” he didn’t finish. What was he going to say? _I may be a prince, but I was born in a brothel, and there’s no brothel in the known world where they don’t have a cauldron of the stuff ready every night?_

Goro stared at the cup full of - if he was any judge - the highest quality of moon tea, the safest and most widely used preventive he knew of. How did Akira get his hands on _that_ in a royal castle, he had no idea, but the fact he had, and the fact he was giving him this, knowing full well that with the amount of cum he had pumped into him last night Goro could very well conceive…

 _Why?_ Why was he giving him this out? Why the fuck, when Goro’s only purpose in this goddamn castle was to preferably get to pumping out strong alpha babies for the prince? _Why did he have to be so-_

“Goro…” Akira’s voice was soft. He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to Goro’s forehead, enveloping him in a cloud of calming pheromones. Goro hated that it worked. He hated how it made his thoughts come to a stop, how comforted he immediately felt. How easy it was to believe that this was just his alpha being _good_ and _nice_ and _caring_ as if any of those things were even possible. Akira’s hands came up, rubbing up and down Goro’s arms.

“You don’t have to drink it, if you don’t want to. It’s your decision to make,” Akira said. “I’ll have more made, if you ever need it again. All you need to do is tell me. I just…” 

Akira looked away.

“When I asked you to marry me, you didn’t request anything but for me to promise I’ll stop if you ever needed me to. This is one of the ways I see myself fulfilling that promise.”

Goro still didn’t reply. He was staring into his reflection in the moon tea until he heard Akira sigh, and felt another kiss being pressed against his forehead.

“I’ll go see how the bath’s coming along,” Akira said, and Goro despised the soft understanding he could hear in his voice. “Come join me once you’re ready, alright?” 

* * *

In the end, Goro plugged his nose and gulped down the tea.

He tried not to think about it. He had enough on his mind as it was. But as he moved his sore, exhausted body towards the bathroom and lowered himself into the pail of hot water, somehow, his mind didn’t quiet down.

Akira, blessedly, didn’t speak. He did come into the bathroom with Goro and undressed, too, but rather than join him in the water, he knelt beside the pail. Goro flinched when Akira touched him for the first time, but his alpha was nothing but patient and gentle with him. He washed his hair, cut the uneven strands for him and, once those things were done, he slipped into the water as well and proceeded to wash Goro’s body. 

It felt nice. Akira’s touch was warm like the water and twice as relaxing. The washing soon turned into a gentle massage, his alpha’s clever fingers kneading and loosening each tense muscle they could find.

It felt like heaven.

Goro hated it.

After their bath was done Akira had helped him out and onto fluffy towels spread in front of the fireplace. There, his alpha knelt beside him again, with bandages and ointment for the scratches and bites all over him; and it was only when he started to clean and wrap up his bonding mark Goro spoke up.

“...why are you doing all this?”

He sounded… _tired_. It was surprising, even to himself. Through the whole thing, there were so many thoughts, so many emotions Goro kept chewing and chewing and never saying out loud. Now he actually spoke, he felt tired and _small_ and he hated it.

Behind him, he felt Akira’s hand still for a moment before resuming their tender work. His alpha took a long time to reply and for once, Goro appreciated just how respectful Akira was, to think through an answer to such a question.

Finally, his bonding mark was covered by a new bit of gauze and Akira leaned away from him.

“You’re my husband,” Akira said. “And… I hurt you. I don’t like the thought of you being in pain because of me.”

“You mean I’m your omega,” Goro snapped. “You smell me being in pain and your stupid alpha hindbrain wants to protect what’s yours.”

“You know… I thought that was it, honestly,” Akira hummed, running his fingertips over Goro’s back. The omega trembled at the touch, both loathing it and yearning for more. The next thing he felt was gentle lips pressed against his nape, right over the mark.

“But… that can’t be right, and you know it as well as I do. If an omega’s distress was a deterrent, alphas would generally take better care of their mates. We both know they don’t. So, I guess, it’s just…”

“Just what? Love at first sight? Don’t make me laugh.”

Akira sighed. Slowly, clearly giving Goro a chance to tell him no, he moved close and wrapped his arms around him, pulling Goro’s back against his chest. It felt warm and _safe_ and Goro hated it so much he wanted to cry.

“...I don’t understand you,” Akira said, rubbing his cheek against Goro’s neck. “You like this. You’re leaning into my touch. Whenever you’re tired or caught by surprise, you purr and snuggle up to me. But you still push me away. It’s like you hate the fact I make you feel good, and I don’t understand why.”

Goro bit his lip, his fists clenching at his sides. Akira hugged him just a bit more tightly.

“Please… help me understand why.”

“I don’t understand why _you_ care so much,” Goro said, after another pause. “I don’t understand why you even _like_ me. We hardly spoke a word to one another outside of fucking. I can’t be _that_ great of a fuck.”

“Well… for what it’s worth, you _are_ a pretty great one,” Akira said, voice a bit startled; and somehow, it made Goro laugh. Not derisively, not spitefully; a peal of soft laughter tore out of his mouth as if shocked to have been there in the first place. Akira chuckled and nuzzled his neck more.

“...I like you,” he said. “I like your scent and I find you incredibly attractive, but, more than that…” he hesitated and then continued on, carefully picking his words.

“When I went to meet you, I expected… I don’t know. A tiny, frightened thing, cowering away from me. I thought I could… calm you. Make it clear I meant you no harm. What I found instead was a man just like me, poised for a fight, watching my every step and calculating how to turn my every word to his advantage. I _liked_ that man. It excited me to think of who he could become, if only I could get to know him a little more. And just like that… I didn’t want to be a saviour anymore. I just wanted to be _with_ you.”

Akira sighed, resting his chin on Goro’s shoulder.

“You know… I was a small, puny child for an alpha. My parents knew I couldn’t be a beta, considering my scent glands were developing, so they assumed I was an omega. When I presented at fifteen, I… My whole life had changed. Suddenly, all the beta and omega friends I made were either taken away or ran from me. Suddenly, people looked at me as if I was going to bite through their throats the moment I got annoyed. You were the first person since then who looked at me and only saw… _me_.”

Slowly, Goro’s hands came up. They rested over Akira’s as he spoke, offering comfort where no words came. Once his alpha was done, Goro felt himself soften. An invisible block of ice jabbing at his insides seemed to have melted a bit.

“...my mother was a whore,” he said, after a while. “Not that there’s any shame in it, but that’s what she was. I was born in a brothel. I was… like you, a rather strong and big child for an omega, so people assumed I’d grow up to be an alpha. When I was five, my mother offered me to the king. A strong alpha son he could legitimize, after paying her off. Imagine his disappointment when his investment turned to naught.” 

Goro smiled bitterly, his head leaning down against Akira’s arm.

“I knew ever since then that was what I was. My body was an object to be bought and sold. My mother sold me for money and my father sold me for influence. And your parents bought me for peace of mind and grandchildren who will one day rule this country. Even I sold myself to you, for protection and, eventually… for power I could one day wield over you. Everything I have ever been was a commodity.”

Goro looked up into the flames of the fireplace.

“You asked why I hate it when you take care of me… maybe it’s just that I have already given you my body, my womb, my consent… I have nothing left to pay you with. And every kind gesture is another debt you can hold over me. Until even what little bits I still cling onto will be gone and taken away from me.”

Slowly, Akira’s arms fell away from around him. Goro let him go. He knew what was going to come next. He was honest, for once in his life; he will be met with disgust or perhaps just with disappointment. But he was tired; more tired than he could describe, and Akira, somehow, felt like he would at least listen, if not understand.

He heard his alpha stand up. He expected him to walk away; instead, he watched Akira move to sit in front of him and take Goro’s hands in his own, his silver eyes curiously intense.

“...you did not sell yourself for protection, or even for whatever power being my mate could give you,” he said, weighing each word. “Or maybe you have; because what you got in return I had given willingly regardless of the price. Goro… I know you will not believe what I tell you, but please, know I am honest when I say I belong to you. For me, you are not an object to be bought or possessed. You’re a man like me, a man with his own struggles and feelings and wants. And even if the whole world says otherwise, that is what I see; what I will always see when I look at you.”

Goro stared into Akira’s shining eyes, desperate to spot a lie, a deception. There was nothing there. He couldn’t look anymore; he averted his eyes, cursing his hormones for how many tears he had to blink away. His fists clenched in Akira’s hold.

“...that isn’t what _I_ see,” he said, but even his voice was weak.

“Will you let me try and _make_ you see, then?” Akira asked, as gentle as ever. Goro’s lips twisted in a bitter smile.

“You don’t know what you ask for. It’s rotten work.” 

“Not for me,” Akira said, leaning down to kiss Goro’s hands. “Not if it’s you.”

**Author's Note:**

> There. I have finally put "It's rotten work." "Not for me. Not if it's you." in a fic and I blame teq for it.


End file.
